Breaking Point
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: LAPD's most unconventional duo is given a new case that brings to light the reason why Wes quit being a lawyer years ago. Then, a short time later he is attacked in his home and he struggles to keep himself together as the case progresses. Travis must protect his partner from an old enemy, as Wes slowly begins to come apart from what is haunting him.
1. Chapter 1

Breaking Point

Chapter One

The day had been long and hard for both partners, Wes and Travis, as the obsessive of the two had become even more uptight and quieter than usual. Travis had no clue as to what had affected Wes so much, but he knew that it must have something to do with their newest case, as his attitude had changed drastically once their captain had assigned it to them.

The odd thing was, the coroner claimed at first that he believed the death to be a suicide, as the victim had been found hanging from the top of the stairwell, with a rope tied tightly around his neck. There was no apparent sign of a struggle, but as soon as Wes saw the man, he flatly stated that the coroner was wrong and that their victim was murdered. Then, Wes clamped up, left the house in a hurry, and got behind the wheel of his car, but didn't start the engine, as he waited for his partner to join him.

As Travis walked out behind him and sat down in the passenger's seat, he could see from the cold stare on Wes' face that he wasn't going to speak to him about what was wrong, so he just remained silent until they arrived at the station. Captain Sutton turned to Wes as they walked in their precinct and asked him how he knew that the young man had been murdered. Wes only answered back that his name was James Franklin, a lawyer, who had been a suspect in a number of rapes. However, before he could say anymore, their boss got called into his office with another matter. As he left, Sutton called out for them to get to work, then explain what they learned to him later on.

Wes refused to say anything more to Travis and he gave him some time to gather his thoughts, but after work that night and as they sat in front of Travis' apartment, the detective finally turned to him and asked, "Look, I get that you don't want to talk about what's bothering you, but you're acting more stand offish than usual and I can't take the silent treatment from you. I'd much rather listen to your incessant distain for the way I do my job and your smart-ass wisecracks about my family, than this; whatever this is. I need to know what's going on here if I'm going to help you."

Wes continued to stare ahead as he responded shortly, "I know."

"What, no remarks about me prying into your personal life?" Travis asked as he gently tapped Wes' leg in fun. "This really is something bad, isn't it? You can tell me, Man. I promise I won't say anything that will make you regret telling me."

"You know that I quit being a lawyer and became a cop after I sent an innocent man to prison," Wes answered sternly, still without looking at him. "I was in charge of a case, where my client's wife was killed by a serial rapist. We had a suspect, who kept claiming he was innocent, but the evidence was showing otherwise and I worked overtime to convict him, but at some point, something finally turned in the suspect's favor. However, you know how I can be and eventually, I found what I needed to convict him. When the jury came back with a guilty verdict, the suspect was devastated and he kept shouting out that he was being framed. Two days later, I discovered that the evidence had been planted by a dirty cop, but unfortunately the suspect had hung himself in his cell. By the time I found out that he had been telling the truth the whole time, he was dead. I failed him and when I apologized to his younger brother, who was living with him at the time, he flipped out and gave me the worst look of betrayal I've ever seen. That was why I quit being a lawyer."

Travis had never seen such a look of devastation on Wes' face before, but he quickly replied, "You can't blame yourself for that, Wes. The kid taking his life was not your fault. You were just doing your job. I mean, you're annoyingly obsessive when it comes to doing your job, but you were doing what you thought was right."

Wes shook his head as he said, "I messed up, Travis, and because I did, a devastated man died and his brother lost the only last living family member he had left. You cannot tell me not to blame myself."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with our new case?" Travis asked in confusion. "What makes you believe our suicide is really a murder?"

"Because our victim, James Franklin, is the real man, who murdered my client's wife," Wes responded as he finally looked over at his partner. "I did the work to find out, who really killed her when I first became a cop, but because someone else had already been convicted of his crimes, I couldn't touch him. Why would a scumbag, who spent years raping and killing, and then gets off scot free, commit suicide? Also, his victims were all strung up by their necks and made to look like suicides, and the man I sent to prison committed suicide the same way. I have a feeling that his brother killed him to get the justice I didn't give him."

Travis looked down and after a minute, turned back to look at Wes as he spoke up firmly, "I'm going to help you through this, Man. If our killer is the brother, then I promise we will do whatever we can to help him get a fair deal."

Wes answered, "Thanks, Travis. I'll see you in the morning."

"Try not to obsess over this tonight!" Travis shouted out as he got out of the car and headed up to his apartment.

"You're going to wake your neighbors with your yelling!" Wes called back.

Travis laughed as he replied, "I think you just did, not me!"

Wes was still angry and worried as he drove to his own home after his partner had finally walked inside, but he had to admit that it actually felt good to talk with someone about one his deepest regrets, though he would never tell that to Travis. If he did, he'd never hear the end of it and Travis would brag about it to their therapy group. After all, Wes had an image to maintain.

After he walked inside his house and put away his gun and badge, the first thing he did was go into his study and began to sift through a ton of files from his days as a lawyer, looking for the information he had collected over the course of this particular trial, not that he really expected to learn something more that he didn't already know by heart.

Everything was quiet as Wes expected it to be. However, as he was about to walk out into his living room, as he was concentrating on reading one of the papers in his hand, and reached out to turn on the lights, he heard the sound of the hammer of a gun being cocked back and quickly dove to the floor as the gun was suddenly fired just above him.


	2. Chapter 2

Breaking Point

Chapter Two

Meanwhile…

Much later that evening, Travis sat at his dining room table, with two lit candles in the middle, across from his latest fling, one of their precinct's newest crime scene techs, holding up a dessert covered fork in front of her mouth as he waited for her to finish her last bite of one of his foster mother's famous coconut cream pies. The young woman made a cry of satisfaction as she swallowed and then leaned forward to take her next bite as Travis fed the little slice of Heaven to her.

He smiled as he bragged, "I told you that nothing can beat my mamma's coconut cream pie."

The woman responded, "You were right. You know, Travis, a few of the girls from work warned me not to come here tonight."

"Was it because of how cluttered my trailer was?" Travis asked as he acted hurt. "Because none of them have seen my new apartment and as you can see, it's perfectly clean."

"Actually, I think the word they used was sloppy or messy and this is not clean," she replied as she got up and walked toward the door. "This is still cluttered, but that isn't the only thing they warned me about you. They said that you were quite the lady's man and I'm afraid that that's not what I'm looking for in my life. Would you really be willing to give me more?"

Travis hesitated and then stuttered as he answered, "I don't… don't think that would be too big…"

The woman scoffed as she cut him off saying, "See, I knew it. You're cute, Travis, but this isn't going to happen. I won't be just another one of your conquests."

"Then, why exactly did you come over here tonight?" Travis asked as she walked out the door.

"So that I could take a picture of your face just as it is right now for the girls," she responded as she pulled out her camera phone and took a shot. "It's the look of complete humiliation and rejection. "Perhaps you should stick to picking up women from the bars, who aren't quite as bright to see through your handsome features and phony charm."

Travis was about to make a retort until his phone suddenly rang and he quickly replied, "Captain, your timing isn't so great and in case you hadn't noticed, it's past midnight. We're done for the night."

The detective could hear the grim tone in Sutton's voice as he answered, "_Travis, you need to get over to Good Samaritan Hospital right away. Wes was attacked by unknown assailants shortly after he got home._"

"I'm on my way, Captain," Travis said as he quickly hung up his phone, grabbed his leather jacket he had hung earlier over the arm of a chair nearby, grabbed his gun, badge, and motorcycle helmet, and then ran out the door.

Traffic was still terrible in the middle of the night, as everyone that lived in Los Angeles knew, which was one of the main reasons why Travis decided to buy his bike in the first place. It gave him the mobility to be able to weave in and out of the traffic much easier, especially when he needed to get to places in a hurry.

"Captain, what's going on?" Travis quickly called out as soon as he ran in and found their boss standing across from the receptions desk. "Is Wes all right? What the hell happened?"

Captain Sutton responded, "I'm not sure how he's doing, but what I do know, is that Wes was shot twice from behind; one bullet in the top of his right shoulder and the other bullet lodged itself lower in his left shoulder. The doctors are working on him right now, but the paramedics assured me he was stable; at least when they brought him in. His neighbors called in the disturbance. Apparently, Wes managed to fight off at least one of his attackers as they first heard a gunshot, but then heard a struggle like there was a huge fight going on. Until this whole mess is solved, your other case has been moved to the backburner, unless we discover the attack has something to do with it."

Travis ran his hand through his hair as anger and concern appeared across his face as he replied, "All right. Uh, do you have any idea it'll be before he's out of surgery?"

"No, but I promise, I'll keep you informed," Sutton answered. "I take it you're heading over to his place to check out the crime scene? I've got other officers and the techs over there now as we speak. Let me know if you find anything. And Travis, your partner's going to be just fine. I think we both know he won't let a couple of bullets take him out."

"Yeah, I do, but I suggest you call Alex to let her know," Travis said solemnly as Sutton nodded. "This was exactly what she was afraid of when he became a cop; the reason why she left him. She won't take this well at all. I'll be back."

Within twenty-five minutes later, Travis arrived at Wes' house and walked inside to find that his place was trashed, especially the living room. Their captain was right about Wes giving his attackers hell, which he couldn't help but smirk as he thought about it. That was until Travis walked over to stand above where his partner had finally gone down. Two different red stains now covered the areas with blood; the larger and more saturated spot indicating the blood loss from the worst of the wounds that was no doubt the one in his lower left shoulder. From the amount of blood that soaked into the carpet, Wes had obviously lost more than what Travis suspected a person could lose from a shoulder wound.

He walked away and continued to search the room, hoping to find something that would give him a clue as to who had attacked his partner. He looked down on the floor near the room's entrance and found a bunch of papers that had been strewn all over and as he began to pick them up to look them over, Travis found that it was information regarding his last case he had spoken to him about earlier. He figured Wes had been reading through the papers before the attack began. Just as Travis finished picking up the rest of the papers, he was suddenly interrupted by the last person he expected to see at that time of night; his and Wes' therapist; Dr. Elise Ryan.

She was the first to speak up as she said softly, "Hello, Travis. I can only imagine how surprised you must be to see me standing here right now."

Travis looked at her as he responded, "Yeah, just a bit. I didn't realize you made house calls, Doc. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here because your captain asked me to come here to talk to you; to make sure you are level headed enough to work through this," she replied. "Mostly, I wanted to make sure you were doing all right."

"I'm just fine," Travis answered quickly. "As you can see, I've got work to do. Someone shot my partner and that doesn't sit well with me."

The doctor spoke up again saying, "And you have every right to feel that way. After all, even though neither one of you would ever admit this, especially to each other, the two of you are more than just partners; you're friends. Can you do what needs to be done, without losing your head as you get close to whoever has done this?"

Travis responded, "No matter what you think, Doctor Ryan, no one hurts my partner and gets away with it. Whether I'm level headed, as you call it, or not, I'm going to track down the son of a bitch and make him and his cronies find out what happens when they attack a cop here in LA."

"Detective!" one of the techs suddenly called out and then saw Travis speaking with the therapist. "Ma'am, I'm sorry for interrupting. Detective Marks, I found a few of the bullet casings that come from a gun other than the gun that your partner carries. We've bagged them up and maybe we'll get lucky enough to find a finger print of two. We've also found one of his attacker's masks down on the ground beside the broken coffee table. It appears that there are some hairs inside of it. If we don't get any finger prints, we should get DNA from that. If the guy's in the system, we've got him."

"I hope your right, Kid," Travis replied as he looked back at Doctor Ryan. "I appreciate you being here, Doc, but it isn't me, who needs you right now. Go home and get some sleep. If you still want to help tomorrow, come to the hospital and be there for Wes after he wakes up. He may be more inclined to talk to you as he'll be all doped up on morphine and other fun drugs."

Doctor Ryan nodded and smiled as she answered, "You may be right. Good night, Travis. And good luck! Go and find the men who did this."


	3. Chapter 3

Breaking Point

Chapter Three

By the time Travis finished looking over Wes' home, he rode his motorcycle back to the hospital more slowly than he had driven it before. He needed more time to think and process everything he had been told and once he would arrive at the hospital, he'd be surrounded by numerous people. Also, he realized that Alex would no doubt be there by now and he wasn't anxious to see the devastated look on her face, or listen to her yell at him about how she was right when she had said that this day would come.

When he finally got up the nerve to walk in, his suspicions were confirmed as the first person he saw was indeed Alex. Anger was etched on her face, but he could also see that she had been crying. Though she and Wes were no longer together, she still cared about him and Wes was clearly still in love with her, as he sadly held out for the day she'd come around and come back to him. No doubt him being attacked tonight would make it so that that would never happen.

Travis paused, blew out a nervous breath, and then finally walked forward and when he made his way over to her, she suddenly slapped him hard on his left cheek as asked, "Hey, what the hell was that for?"

She answered angrily, "That slap was actually for Wes, but I can't exactly give it to him now, can I, seeing as he's in surgery?"

"Listen, Alex," Travis began to say until he was cut off. "I…"

"Do not try to defend him," she said. "I warned him that this was going to happen, but he didn't listen to me. He's a lawyer, not a cop!"

Travis shook his head and replied, "You're wrong, Alex. He's a great cop. I won't ever tell him that to his face, but he's one of the best I've ever known, despite his obsessive compulsive behavior."

Alex turned away from him as she quietly responded, "I told him the day he moved out because he chose being a cop over me, that I wouldn't come if this happened, but… I couldn't turn my back on him."

"Because you still care about him," Travis spoke up again. "Believe me, I know what it feels like to hate someone and care about them at the same time. I've got a lot of foster families and some of them have made some pretty rotten choices in life, but if something ever happened to any one of them, I'd be there for them; Wes too."

"He told me he had moved out of his friend's hotel," Alex said. "I was surprised, but I am glad that he's finally allowing himself to move on. Maybe now he'll be able to start dating again. I've met someone Travis; someone that I care about, a lot. I'm going to be moving in with him; into his home in San Francisco. It was going to be next week, but under the circumstances… I'm going to wait until I'm sure Wes will be all right. I know this is a hell of a time, but… He will be all right, won't he, Travis?"

Travis answered grimly, "If you mean with you moving away to be with your new man, then yes. He'll be fine in time. If you're asking me if he'll be all right after what happened tonight, I'm not sure. We're all still waiting for…"

Their captain suddenly walked over and cleared his throat as he interrupted, "Sorry, Travis, Ma'am. His doctor's coming."

"Doc, how's he doing?" Travis quickly asked anxiously as the doctor made his way over to him. "Will my partner be all right?"

"Detective Mitchell's going to be fine," the woman replied. "He was lucky. The bullet in his upper right shoulder was a through and through and the bullet didn't hit anything vital. The second bullet in his lower left shoulder was more dangerous, as it became lodged deep inside the muscle, but thankfully we were able to remove it just fine. He lost a lot of blood, but we're working on giving him a transfusion. He woke up very briefly, but he was asking for you, Detective. You're welcome to go in and see him, but I suggest you go in one at a time and let him rest. His recovery will be much quicker that way. I take the recovery of my patients, very seriously. Do I make myself clear?"

Travis nodded, as did the others, and then the detective responded with more ease, "Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."

Alex was the first one to go into Wes' room a few minutes after the doctor guided them there and then walked away. He didn't wake up and a part of her was relieved that he didn't. She'd be able to go home tonight and wait for Wes to come around again once he was better. After she left about a half an hour later, the captain went in and then Travis. He stood on the side of his partner's bed and stared down at him in concern, despite the fact that the doctor said he was going to be fine before too long. His concern wasn't just because Wes had been shot. It was mostly for how he'd react to the attack.

Travis was about to walk out of the room, when he suddenly heard Wes groan as he began to come to, then quickly walked to his spot beside the bed and spoke up saying, "Come on, Sleeping Beauty. It's about time you awoke from your beauty sleep. I'm not gonna do all the work in this case."

"It'd never get done if it was left to you," Wes answered quietly and groggily as his eyes finally opened.

"It's good to see you awake again, Man," Travis replied. "I was getting worried that I'd be stuck breaking in a new partner. Not that it wouldn't be better than being stuck with you, but…"

Wes smiled slightly and then sarcastically responded, "It's good to see you again too, Travis. My home; what happened?"

Travis looked at his partner in surprise as he asked, "You mean, you don't remember being attacked?"

"No, I remember everything," Wes quickly answered as he attempted to remove the tubes in his arms and get up from his bed. "I mean, what happened after I was knocked out? Did you arrest them?"

"Wes, you need to relax and stay in bed in order to get better," Travis quickly said as he pushed Wes back down and tried to calm him down. "We'll take care of everything. Can you tell me what happened?"

Wes didn't have the strength to fight his partner and so he finally gave in and grimly replied, "I managed to duck just as the first guy fired on me. Then, he and his buddy continued their attack with just the moon coming in for light. I didn't even have the chance to turn on all the lights in my house yet. I was able to knock their guns from their hands, but they just kept coming. However, I was lucky and I was able to knock them both to the ground. I thought it was over; that is until I was suddenly shot in my right shoulder from behind, causing me to fall to the floor. I tried to get up and turn to look at, whoever did it, but I was quickly shot again. As I slowly fell unconscious, I could hear sirens in the distance. I never saw him. I didn't stand a chance."

Travis nodded and responded. "You did good, Wes. You knocked down two armed men. Unfortunately, there was no one else in your house when the police finally arrived, but I promise you, we will catch these bastards."

"I know," Wes said as he slowly fell back asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Breaking Point

Chapter Four

It was two days later that Wes left the hospital, despite the doctors' protests. They tried to get Wes to stay, but he refused to listen, as he was too impatient to lie in bed, while his partner and the rest of the LAPD worked on trying to solve this case. Wes wasn't sure if the case he and Travis had been working on before the incident is related to his shooting, but his instinct told him that it was. No doubt if the younger brother of the man, whom Wes had sent to prison, was angry enough at his sister in law's killer to go out and kill him, then it was likely that he was also angry enough to try to kill him for being the man responsible for his brother's suicide.

Once he had finished signing the release papers up at the nurses' station, he was about to leave to go and catch the cab that he had had one of the women call for him as he was getting ready to leave, but before he could get to the door, Travis suddenly stepped out of the elevator and moved to stand in front of him as he crossed his arms as if in protest of Wes leaving.

"You look like Hell," Travis said bluntly. "You do know that, don't you?"

"Thank you, Travis," Wes answered. "And I feel like Hell too, but that isn't going to stop me from leaving."

Travis shook his head and reached out to grab his partner's duffle bag he was carrying, that he had brought him earlier to carry his change of clothes in and then responded, "I realize that you feel you need to be a part of the investigation, but what good are you going to be if you pass out from the pain, or begin to bleed out because you tore your stitches while trying to chase down the bad guys?"

Wes glared at Travis as he replied, "I promise, if our bad guys try to run, I'll let you do all the running, that is if I don't shoot the guys first, but I have to do whatever I can do. All of this was my fault to begin with."

"What are you talking about?" Travis quickly asked in confusion. "I'm talking about the investigation into finding the men, who shot you. The other case was put on the backburner, or will probably end up being given to Cafferty and Laroche."

"Both cases are related," Wes stated firmly. "I can't prove it right now, but my instinct is screaming that I'm right."

Both he and Travis began walking out of the hospital and headed to the parking garage as Travis asked, "Wait, are you telling me that you believe that the same man, who murdered our hanging victim, is the same guy, who hired a couple of thugs and possibly shot you inside your house? Why?"

Wes answered, "The kid brother of the man I put in prison was angrier than I have ever seen anyone besides the scumbags we pick up that are high on drugs. A short time after his brother died, I received a few threats from him, a few of which were death threats. I never said anything to anyone because I felt responsible and eventually, the threats stopped. Him killing James Franklin wasn't just out of revenge for him killing his sister in law. He killed him to send a message to me; to scare me. Then, he finally tried to make good on his threats against me. Who knows why my attackers didn't finish me off when they had the chance?"

"It's possible the police arrived just in time and they needed to get out of there fast, or maybe they just believed you were already dead," Travis responded. "Can I ask you something?"

"I suppose," Wes replied. "I have a feeling if I said no, you'd do it anyway."

Travis nodded and then stopped and looked at his partner as he asked solemnly, "Why is it that you're being so forthcoming about everything? I mean, usually we both hide our personal problems from each other, especially if it has something to do with a case, until it is absolutely necessary to share it. You're not acting like yourself."

Wes looked back at Travis and then answered softly, "Because it's possible that innocent people and the people that I care about, including you, may end up getting hurt because of my mistake and I can't risk that. I won't risk that. It's important that you know everything up front so that there won't be any surprises, at least not from my end."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when Wes Mitchell, perfectionist, obsessive, and millionaire, would suddenly turn sentimental," Travis responded sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Travis," Wes retorted. "And I'm not a millionaire. I'm just frugal with my money that I earn."

Travis quickly replied, "Whatever. I'm being serious too. This isn't like you, Wes. How many times do I have to tell you that none of this is your fault? You were doing your job. Your gut told you that the guy was guilty and you did what you could to make sure he paid as you did with everyone else you put away."

Wes suddenly shouted, "But I was wrong!"

"Yes, but you had no way of knowing that at the time!" his partner shouted back. "The kid was framed and you were set up by a dirty cop. As officers of the law, we trust each other above everyone else, until we are given a reason not to. You just found out too late and I'm sorry, but you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get prepared to take down the killers now, before they come after you again and succeed."

"You think I'm feeling sorry for myself?" Wes asked angrily.

Travis nodded and answered, "I do, but I know that you'll get past it and buckle down in order to do whatever it takes to get this done. Are you ready?"

Wes subconsciously rubbed his free hand along his left arm that was being held up by a sling and calmly responded. "I don't really have much of a choice. Let's get to the precinct. We need to talk to Captain Sutton."

"You realize that he's going to send us right to our next therapy session with Doctor Ryan that we've got in twenty minutes, don't you?" Travis asked as they finally reached the spot where Travis had parked Wes' car.

"You drove my car?" Wes grumbled.

Travis replied, "After listening to you gripe and remind me time after time about how unsafe and hazardous to my health my bike is, I figured you wouldn't be too fond of me coming to pick you up on it."

Wes glared at his partner and said, "I suppose not. Just be careful and yeah, I have a feeling you're right about the captain sending us to therapy. You don't suppose he'll let us off for this week, do you?"

"Hell no," Travis answered as he started the car and began to pull out of the garage. "Not after you getting yourself shot. Let's roll."


	5. Chapter 5

Breaking Point

Chapter Five

When both Wes and Travis walked into the precinct, their captain was speaking with Detectives Cafferty and Laroche, but then stood up straight and began to walk toward them as soon as he saw them. He quickly shouted back at the others, telling them to get back to work on whatever it was they were working on.

He was the first to speak up saying, "You know, Wes, I expected that you wouldn't stay in the hospital for very long, but I believe that you have someplace else to be rather than here right now."

Wes tried to object until Travis spoke up for him as he replied, "Uh yeah, but Captain, we were kind of hoping you'd let us off this week, you know, after everything's that's happened."

"I think that because of everything's that's happened, you and especially your partner need this more than ever," Sutton answered. "Now, get going before you're late. You know Doctor Ryan hates it when you're late."

"But Sir…," Wes tried to object until their captain held his hands up to stop him. "Fine, but I need you to get a current address on a Jeff Scott. Last I heard, was that he was a bartender at some kind of Irish pub somewhere in the Hollywood area."

Captain Sutton asked, "Do you suspect this man of being involved in your shooting?"

Wes quickly responded, "Not only that, Sir, but we also have reason to believe that he's involved in the murder of our hanging victim. The cases are linked together. You can't hand it off to Cafferty and Laroche."

"How do you know that they're linked?" Sutton asked again.

"Instinct, Captain," Travis spoke up for his partner. "One hundred percent, genuine instinct."

About thirty minutes later, the two dysfunctional detectives slowly walked into the studio that held their therapy sessions, as well as some palates class that followed afterward. Doctor Ryan was surprised to see Wes as he walked in behind his partner and she stood as Travis helped Wes to sit down, after Wes began to collapse as a dizzy spell suddenly came over him. The others in the group were all surprised to see how terrible he looked.

"What on earth are you doing here, Wes?" Doctor Ryan asked with concern in her voice. "Surely you should still be in the hospital."

"My God what happened to you?" Mr. Dumont asked as Travis moved around to kneel down in front of Wes, ignoring everyone else in the room.

He looked up at his partner, whose eyes were closed and whose hand was pinching the bridge of his nose to help ease the pain a little, and asked, "Are you all right, Man?"

Wes nodded and opened his eyes again as he pulled away his hand, then replied, "I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy."

"I think perhaps you should tell everyone here what happened to you if you're going to insist on being here," the doctor finally spoke again.

"We didn't exactly want to be here today, Ma'am, but our captain insisted that if I was well enough to leave the hospital, then I am well enough to be here too," Wes answered. "Believe me, I'd rather be working on our current case."

Travis stood up, then moved to sit down in his own chair and turned to face the group as he said, "You'll have to excuse Wes today. He's sort of in a foul mood and he's got every right to be. Two nights ago, he was shot twice from someone, who snuck up from behind him. He was very lucky."

Rozelle eyed him in concern, then responded, "You look terrible. You were shot twice in the back only two nights ago and now you're here? Are you crazy?"

"The jury's still out on that one," Travis quickly replied. "But don't worry, he's going to be just fine in no time."

"Why would someone try to kill you?" Peter asked. "Was it someone, whom you put away or did you arrest someone he or she cared about?"

Wes shook his head, but remained silent as he turned his head away from everyone, so Doctor Ryan quickly interceded as she said, "It appears he's not quite ready to share with us what happened, so as long as you're ready, I shall proceed. Who here, has something they would like to share with us?"

Mrs. Dumont raised her hand and when the doctor called on her, she answered, "Well, our son will finally be coming home with his new wife. They'll be here in a few days."

"That is wonderful!" Doctor Ryan responded. "I am so happy for you both."

"It has been four long years since we have seen him," Mr. Dumont continued. "We've missed him and now we have another member to add to our family; a daughter in law."

Travis clapped his hands, followed by everyone else in the room, except for Wes, then Travis spoke up saying, "Congratulations! I always say, the more family, the better. Even Wes here admitted to me once that he envied me for having such a big family."

Wes turned to his partner, with annoyance clearly etched across his face, as he replied, "I thought I told you that in confidence. You weren't supposed to tell anyone."

"What, that you actually said something nice to me instead of being your usual, charming self?" Travis asked sarcastically. "Come on, you know that I can't keep a secret. Don't tell me anything if you don't me to reveal it. Oh, and by the way, I told this to Alex too."

"That's great," Wes answered. "And I'm sure she was surprised that I showed some feeling, wasn't she?"

Doctor Ryan quickly cut in as she said, "I am sensing a bit of hostility in your voice as you speak about Alex. Has something happened recently in regards to her?"

When Wes once again refused to answer, Travis spoke up and responded, "Alex has fallen in love with someone and has agreed to move in with him, in his home in San Francisco. Alex told Wes last night when she came to visit him in the hospital. She didn't intend to, but it kind of slipped out after they had talked for awhile. Wes told her he was happy for her, but clearly he's still hurting."

"I see," the doctor replied. "Wes, are you happy for her, or do you resent her?"

"Of course I'm happy for her," Wes answered a bit more harshly than he had planned. "If being with him is what makes her so, then…."

After he stopped talking, she nodded and then responded, "I believe you really do want her to be happy, but I also believe that you've been holding on to the idea that you and she would one day get back together. However, you are finally beginning to see that that reality will never happen."

Wes looked directly at her and said, "No, I'm not beginning to understand it. I knew it as soon as I was shot the first time. It wasn't the pain or worrying about dying that I first thought about as I fell to the floor. It was Alex. I realized then that she was right all along to leave me and that I was selfish to want her to stay. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

As soon as he finished, he stood up and then turned and stiffly walked out of the room as Travis could see both physical and emotional pain etched across his face. He watched his partner walk away in surprise and then turned back to look around the room. Each of their faces masked the same surprise shown on Travis'.

"I think that he just had a breakthrough, Doc," Travis finally spoke when his eyes stopped on her. "But why did it have to be such a painful one?"

"Unfortunately, that's how they come," she replied sadly. "I suggest you go after him. He's clearly hurting and he's going to need you as you two work to solve your case. Take care of him."


	6. Chapter 6

Breaking Point

Chapter Six

For the amount of pain that he was feeling by this point, Wes was surprised that he managed to make it back to his car before his partner came out after him. When he finally did, Travis found him leaning up against the car, as Travis was the one with his keys and all doors were locked, with his hands on both sides of his head as he slowly massaged his temples to help ease the headache, or migraine.

Travis was the first to talk as he said, "So, that didn't last long. Not that I really expected it to, but I did expect us to last a little longer, especially since we weren't actually called away this time. You can stop me from babbling anytime you know. In all seriousness, are you all right?"

Wes stopped and turned to glare at his partner as he suddenly shouted out, "For crying out loud, would you stop asking me that? I'm so sick of you and everyone else asking me that. I told you, I'm fine!"

"I'll stop asking you if you admit that you're not okay," Travis responded firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You are not fine, Man."

"What does it matter?" Wes asked as he finally calmed down. "You're right, I'm not fine, but I need to be here to work this case with you. I cannot allow it to fall into Cafferty's and Laroche's hands, even if you were to work alongside them. You and I are the best at catching the bad guys and if I'm right about it being Jeff Scott, then…"

Travis looked at his partner as he interrupted, "What's wrong with allowing someone else to take this case? You know the rules about working cases that are personal; not that they didn't stop us from tracking down and arresting my foster brother, but you have to admit, this is definitely different."

Wes sadly answered, "Because, if someone else takes over this case, then there's a possibility that he could end up getting himself shot and killed. As long as I'm involved, that's not going to happen. I can't let it happen."

"Even if this kid did shoot you, you really still want to protect him?" Travis asked in surprise. "Man, I would have shot my brother if it weren't for you butting in. You are totally making me look bad, Mother Theresa."

"I am always making you look bad," Wes replied as he finally smiled and then chuckled. "Come on, open the door so we can get back to work. Otherwise, you're going to be picking me up off of the sidewalk."

Travis did as Wes asked and then once they were both settled in the car and driving back toward the precinct, Travis turned to his partner, who was once again pinching the bridge of his nose, and asked, "How is the pain level really?"

Wes didn't look at him as he responded, "It's slowly getting worse, but I can handle it. All I need is just some aspirin that I've got hidden in my desk so that you can't steal from me anymore."

"You should take some of the medicine that you promised your doctor you'd take," Travis said. "It would help you a heck of a lot more than just plain old aspirin would."

"If I take that stuff, it will make me too drowsy and unable to focus on what I need to," Wes answered seriously. "I need to remain focused and alert, at least until this is all over."

Travis turned his eyes back onto the road and continued driving as he replied, "Whatever. Hey, wait a minute. Did you just accuse me of stealing your aspirin? Why would I do that? I've got my own."

Wes smiled as he said, "That's because you couldn't find mine. By hiding it, you were forced to buy some for yourself."

"I really hate it when you use your annoying, methodical mind tricks on me," Travis responded.

"You do it to you…" Wes began to say until all of a sudden a bullet broke through the windshield of his car, causing them both to duck instinctively, as several more rounds followed suit.

Travis shouted out to his partner to stay down, as he did as well, while trying to remain in control of the car, but as the shots kept coming from the car now beside them, it was getting harder for him to do so. Before they knew it, their attackers suddenly rammed into the right side of the detectives' car, causing it to spin out of control, then flip onto the roof, and then crash hard into the large, front window of a breakfast joint in the middle of the city and finally come to a sudden halt.

As soon as Travis became aware a few moments after the crash, he quickly looked over toward Wes and called out, "Wes, you all right? Wes!"

The blond detective groggily answered, "I thought I told you to stop asking me that."

"You're fine," Travis replied mockingly as he then went on to look out the rearview windshield, which had been shattered, just as were the front windshield and other windows, in order to see if their attackers were still coming. "Thank God. It looks like our guys gave up in order to avoid getting spotted by all the witnesses. Whoever is trying to kill you, they certainly want you dead bad."

"We need to help these civilians," Wes spoke up as he worked on getting out of his side of the car by climbing out the back, as his side was smashed in. "How are you holding up? You hurt?"

Travis reached up to the side of his head, as he could feel something sticky running along the side of his face, and after pulling his hand away, he responded, "It looks like I've got a pretty good size gash on the right side of my head and I'm bleeding, but I feel just fine. Let's get out of here."

Travis was the first one out, as he climbed out beside his partner, and when they finally stood shakily on their feet, Wes looked over at Travis to get a good look at the head wound and as he reached up to touch the substance and pulled his hand away, he said, "Travis, this isn't blood running down the side of your face; it's syrup. How can you not tell the difference between syrup and blood?"

"Well, no doubt, I'm bleeding somewhere, just as I'm sure you are," Travis quickly answered as he pushed Wes' hand away from his face. "Forget about me. There are plenty of people in here that are hurt thanks to those scumbags that ran us into this joint. Once help arrives, then we can take care of each other."

"I can't believe I have to buy another car," Wes said in frustration as he and Travis worked to help out those around them that had been injured in the crash. "You are the worst luck a partner could have."


	7. Chapter 7

Breaking Point

Chapter Seven

When the police showed up at the crash site, Wes and Travis both quickly finished helping out the restaurant's patrons they were tending to and then left the site as they were escorted back to their department by one of the officers, after refusing medical treatment themselves, despite the paramedics' protests.

Captain Sutton ordered the two detectives into his office as soon as they got back and when they walked in, Wes slowly took a seat in the chair that sat in front of their boss' desk as he was exhausted and his migraine was growing worse even though he had taken something earlier to help it. The pain in his shoulders, especially in the area of the worst of the wounds, was also beginning to take their toll on his body.

The captain eyed him suspiciously, then looked down at Wes and spoke up saying, "You look terrible, Detective. How are…"

Travis quickly interrupted, "Uh Sir, you really don't want to ask him that. He's fine."

"Yeah right," Captain Sutton replied as he glared at Travis. "What the hell happened out there? Were they the same guys that attacked you in your apartment, Wes?"

"We didn't get a chance to get a look at them, but I'd say there's a pretty good chance it was the same guys," Wes answered. "We were lucky we didn't get more than a few scratches and bruises."

Their boss responded, "You were lucky you didn't fall into a coma from the pain you're obviously feeling. Don't tell me you're fine because you're not. Did you at least take your medication?"

Travis intervened as he cleared his throat and said, "Don't worry, Sir, I'm making sure he's doing what he needs to do. Did you get that address we asked for?"

"I should be taking you off this case all together and get you both put up in a safe house until this is all over," Sutton replied.

"Captain, you can't…" Wes began to object.

Travis cut him off saying, "Cap, you can't take us off this case. We need to be the ones to bring the kid in if he is indeed involved in this. You can say it's a kind of therapy."

The captain glared at him as he asked, "What's the real reason?"

"If the others attempt to arrest him and he resists, there's a good chance he'll get himself killed," Wes answered. "He doesn't deserve to get killed."

"If it is him, he's responsible for two attempts on one of my best detectives' life, as well as his partner's now," their boss responded. "Not to mention the countless lives he or his men endangered when they crashed your car into the front window of some restaurant in the middle of downtown. If he were to be killed by a cop's bullet, I wouldn't lose sleep over it."

Wes stood up and said angrily, "If it weren't for me, he wouldn't be doing this."

Sutton asked, "What do you mean if it weren't for you?"

"I put Jeff Scott's brother in prison because I was too blind to look deeper into his case," Wes replied. "If I had, I would have seen that he was innocent. Two days after he was convicted, he hung himself in his cell. His brother blamed me for his death. If I can protect him, I may be able to regain some kind of peace. If not…, If you take us off this case, I quit."

"Wes!" Travis called out to his partner and Wes stood awkwardly from the chair and walked out of their captain's office. "Captain, I don't think he's just puffing smoke; he's serious. If he does quit, he's going to try to help him out on his own and Wes will end up dead. If that happens, I'll quit too."

Captain Sutton answered, "Since when did you start sticking up for your partner?"

Travis shrugged and then responded, "Once this is all over, things will go back to normal."

"Good and just so you know, I never said I was going to pull the two of you off this case," Sutton said. "I only said that I should. Protect your partner and get him through this, Travis. If you do that, then maybe I'll consider giving you both a raise. You do after all hold the highest arrest record. It's about time I rewarded the two of you, I think. The kid's address is on your desk."

"Thank you, Captain," Travis replied, then turned and walked out after his partner.

After picking up the paper with Jeff Scott's address on it, Travis walked into the break room, where he found Wes staring at the contents inside the refrigerator, but he quickly shut the door as he pulled out a water bottle and then sat down at the table when he noticed Travis coming up behind him.

Travis spoke up saying, "You should probably eat something too. I doubt you have since I forced you to eat that crappy hospital food yesterday afternoon."

When Wes didn't respond and just continued to stare ahead, Travis continued, "You do realize what will happen if you quit being a cop, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'll end up alone and back to living in my friend's hotel because I'm depressed," Wes answered. "Either that, or you'll end up finding my body someplace in the gutter."

"Wow!" Travis responded as he looked at his partner in surprise at his lack of concern for his own wellbeing. "I really need to snap you out of this mood of yours. No, Man! I was going to say that I would probably end up getting promoted as lead detective and get asked to move to Beverly Hills Precinct just like Phil so that I can lead my own team. That might actually nice. I can meet myself a couple of filthy rich honeys, buy myself that Jag I've always wanted, and maybe even get a butler, or two. Then, I can call you up every night on the phone, or stop by your sad little motel room, just so I can brag to your face about how much better my life has gotten. You know, maybe it would be better if you quit."

Wes glared up at his partner and replied, "Even if I did quit, that would never happen. You lack the discipline to accomplish any of that. You'd end up back in your tiny little trailer, dirt poor and stuck with having to train a new guy in my place, who will only drag you down further. And by the way, it's a hotel, not a motel. A hotel is much nicer and a motel is a sad, run down little place that is most likely crawling with mice and cockroaches."

Travis smiled as he reached into the fridge, pulled out a bucket of chicken he had brought in to work with him that morning, and set it down on the table in front of Wes, then said, "There's my partner. You're much easier to deal with when you're acting like your stuck up, obsessive self."

"And you'd be much easier to deal with if you changed, well everything about you," Wes retorted. "Are we still on the case?"

"I've got Jeff Scott's home address right here in my hand," Travis answered as he nodded and then held up the piece of paper their captain had left on his desk for them. "Are you ready to face the guy and find out once and for all if he's our man?"

Wes slowly stood up again as he grabbed a piece of the chicken from the bucket, then began to eat it and responded, "Let's get moving."


	8. Chapter 8

Breaking Point

Chapter Eight

Since Wes' car had been pretty much totaled in the accident, he and Travis had to borrow a patrol car, just as they had back when they had gone on patrol with Doctor Ryan, when they had first started therapy. Most of their drive to the address their captain had given them, Travis complained about how much he missed his bike and that he hated that he was stuck driving a car without class or style.

Wes listened to his grumbling in the beginning, as he realized that Travis was only spouting off in order to try to ease his mind, but eventually he tuned him out as his mind was more preoccupied with what he was going to say when he finally confronted the man he believed to be responsible for everything that's happened.

As they finally pulled up to the apartment, Travis turned to Wes and tapped him playfully on his leg, then spoke up as he asked, "I can go up there and do this alone if you prefer? I promise I won't shoot him."

Wes turned and answered, "No, I have to go; you know that."

"Are you sure you're really up for this?" Travis asked again. "I mean, most likely he'll try to get into your head. That's what bad guys do when they hold a personal grudge against someone."

"Travis, I promise you, I'll be fine," Wes replied. "You realize, if things weren't so grim, you'd be ecstatic to meet someone from my lawyer days."

Travis laughed as he got out of the car and then walked around to the passenger's side in order to help his partner. As he stood up straight and leaned up against the side of the car to regain his balance, as he had become dizzy after moving too fast, Wes slowly and carefully removed the sling holding up his left arm to help protect the bullet wound just above it.

Travis tried to object as he said, "You're not supposed to remove that for at least two weeks. It's meant to help you to heal faster."

Wes responded, "If you were in my position and were about to face someone from your past, whom you feared, you wouldn't do it with a sling over your arm to make you appear weak in front of him. I can't let him see how much pain I'm in. It would only make me appear vulnerable."

"All right, but if he tries to pick a fight, I'll be the one doing the punching and the kicking," Travis answered. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mom," Wes replied sarcastically as they both began to walk into the apartment building. "I doubt Jeff will be stupid enough to make the first attack, but if he does, try not to get punched out in the first round."

Travis only smiled as they cautiously walked up to the door, then he knocked and stood back to wait for a response. After the second knock, a man unlocked and opened the door, then stood there and stared at Wes as a scowl appeared across his face. After a minute, he finally scoffed and turned to walk back into his apartment, leaving the door open as an indication for them to come in.

Travis spoke up first as he turned to his partner and whispered, "Judging from the stern look and his chuckle, I take it that this is Jeff Scott?"

Wes only nodded as Jeff responded, "Hello again, Wes. I'm surprised to see you again. I didn't expect to. We didn't exactly part on good terms."

"No, we didn't," Wes answered solemnly.

"Who is your friend?" Jeff asked as he looked over at Travis. "Is he another fellow lawyer?"

Wes looked over at Travis as well, then turned back to face the younger man as he replied, "No, I'm no longer a lawyer. I'm a detective now and this is my partner, Detective Travis Marks. But somehow, I have a feeling you already knew that."

Jeff responded, "I'm not sure why. I haven't thought about you since the day you came by my old house to tell me that my brother was dead. I think I called you a murderer."

"As I'm meeting you for the first time, I have to say that I believe it should be us calling you that," Travis cut in quickly in order to take the heat off of his partner. "You've got this smug look about you and we're here investigating a murder that you're the perfect suspect for. James Franklin; have you ever heard of him?"

"I have no idea, who that is," Jeff answered. "I'm a bartender here in the middle of Hollywood, so it's possible he could be a customer of mine, since you both think I've got a connection to him. If I'm not at work, then I'm here at home. Bartending isn't as easy and glamorous as you might think. It's a lot of long hours and low pay. Should I know him?"

Wes slowly put his right hand over the wound in his left shoulder and then quickly rubbed his arm as he lowered his hand and replied, "James Franklin is the scumbag that murdered your brother's wife. He's the monster, who started all of this."

Travis noticed his partner's actions and the pain in his face that he was fighting hard to hide from the man standing in front of them, as Jeff responded, "If I had known, who it was that murdered her and started the chain reaction that led to you killing my brother, I would have killed him, but it looks like someone else saved me the trouble. Perhaps if you had done your job right from the beginning, you could have prevented another crime in this crappy city, but at least it was only just a scumbag and not someone innocent like my brother and his wife. Just how many other lives have you ruined?"

"That's enough!" Travis said angrily as he moved to stand between Jeff and his partner in his defense. "You may have an answer for everything, Pal, but don't think that we're though with you. Where were you two nights ago around ten- thirty and then again about four o'clock in the afternoon before that?"

"I was at work both times," Jeff answered. "You can check the footage from my surveillance equipment in the bar and you can also talk to over two dozen witnesses. You'll see that I'm not guilty."

Travis replied, "Just because your alibi may check out, doesn't mean you're not guilty."

Jeff looked between the partners and then stopped on Wes as he responded, "I like your partner, Wes. How on earth did you manage to get paired up?"

Travis turned Wes toward the door and gently pushed him out of the apartment as they both ignored Jeff and shut the door behind them. As soon as they walked down the hallway and turned the corner, Wes suddenly collapsed back against the wall and once again placed his hand over his left shoulder, while he squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"What's wrong?" Travis quickly asked in concern as he reached out to keep his partner falling to the floor. "Tell me the truth, how intense is the pain?"

"It's bad," Wes answered painfully.

Travis replied, "You need to take the medicine the doctors gave you. Where'd you put it?"

Wes shook his head as he finally straightened up, opened his eyes, looked at his partner, and responded, "No, I already told you that I won't risk being drugged up as long as this case is open. I need my head to be clear."

"I think that your head will be clearer if you aren't concentrating so hard on staying up right," Travis said. "I will drag you in and lock you up in one of the prison cells at our precinct if you don't do at least something to help yourself. I don't want to have to pick you up off the floor and carry you back to the hospital."

"I would love to see you try," Wes retorted as he pulled out a pill bottle from his coat pocket and put one of the pills in his mouth, then swallowed. "Are you happy now? If I get drowsy, I will be the one locking you up in one of the cells. Please let's just get out of here."

Travis smiled as he answered, "Sounds good to me."


	9. Chapter 9

Breaking Point

Chapter Nine

After they had gotten back to the precinct from going to see Jeff Scott, Wes had been ordered by their captain to go lie down on the couch in the break room, since the younger man was in danger and Travis and Sutton did not want him to go back to the hotel alone, in order to try to ease the migraine and to get the sleep he sorely needed. After trying to protest, Wes finally listened and once he left the room, Travis spoke to Captain Sutton about their conversation with the man that had been tormenting Wes since the beginning of this case.

"The smug SOB had an answer for everything," Travis said angrily. "The man is guilty as hell, but there's no doubt that his alibi's going to check out and he seems smart enough to not leave anything behind that would implicate him in any of the attacks."

"How was Wes during the questioning?" Captain Sutton asked.

Travis looked toward the break room, then turned back to their boss and answered, "He was his usual, irritating self, but for the first time, it was an act, Captain. He took off his sling before we went inside to talk with Jeff and he kept calm like any good detective would, but he was hurting. I'm not sure if our guy noticed, but I could and as soon as we left the apartment and turned the corner, Wes collapsed up against the wall. He even admitted to me that the pain he was feeling was bad. I would admit any kind of pain in front of anyone to get attention, but Captain, you know Wes never would unless the pain was unbearable, especially to me. I convinced him to take one of the pills with fewer side effects, but…"

Sutton nodded and then asked, "So, what's your next move?"

"Wes may kill me afterwards, but while he's resting, I'm going to head to the bar our suspect works at in order to check out his alibis and question the people there," Travis responded. "In case a fight breaks out, I won't risk him getting caught in the middle of it. He'd never last."

"That's a good idea, but take Detectives Laroche and Cafferty with you for back up," the captain replied. "Catch them up on what's going on."

Travis tried to object, "But, Captain…"

Sutton cut him off as he quickly said, "You and Wes are still running lead, but I won't send you into your guy's place alone either. Cafferty and Laroche are ready to help you when you need it and I want you to let them in. You will need them eventually. Better now than later."

"Fine," Travis answered as he sulked off and headed off to find the other two detectives.

By the time he finally found the women, they were in talking with Kendall in her lab, as she worked on analyzing some evidence they had given to her for one of their own cases. As soon as Travis walked into the room, all three of the women started laughing and Travis could tell that they had been talking about him and his partner.

"What funny story are you sharing with each other about me and Wes today, ladies?" Travis asked as he walked over to stand beside them.

Kate looked over at him and asked, "And what makes you think we were talking about you, Travis?"

He responded, "Well, because you guys are always talking about us and you started laughing the moment I walked in here. What else would you be talking about?"

"What we talk about is none of your business," Amy replied. "Now, what do you want?"

"While Wes is taking it easy, I'm going to go to a bar down in Hollywood to check out our suspect's alibis," Travis answered. "Our captain has ordered me to let you in on our case and to ask you to join me. I'm not thrilled about it, but all the same, we are going to need you after all. What do you think; are you in?"

Kate looked over at her partner, who nodded, and then turned back to Travis as she responded, "Sounds good to us. We're in."

Kendall spoke up as she looked up at Travis and asked, "How is your partner doing? Will he be all right?"

"He's doing all right, all things considered," Travis replied. "Did you get any DNA results back from his house yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I was just about to come and find you," Kendall answered. "I have the results from the hair samples found inside the mask worn by one of Wes' attackers the other techs brought me from the scene. They belong to a man named, I kid you not, Tom Cruise and I am guessing, from his ugly mug shot, that he is not at all related to the actor."

Travis grabbed the rap sheet from Kendall and then nodded as he responded, "I think you're probably right. What was this guy's mother thinking naming him after 'the Man' from Top Gun?"

About forty-five minutes later, Travis, Cafferty, and Laroche all finally walked inside the bar where his and his partner's main suspect worked as a bartender. Their whole ride there, Travis complained about the traffic and eventually put on the lights and siren in order to get through faster. As Travis parked, Travis had yet to explain what he and Wes knew of their suspect, until Amy eventually got him to open up about it. Both Cafferty and Laroche saw that Travis was worried for his partner, but he quickly pushed it aside as they finally walked inside the bar.

Thanks to the way each of them dressed, none of the bar's patrons suspected them of being cops until they walked up and began to question the woman, who was bartending right now, after showing her and the others around them their badges. It wasn't long before the fight Travis was hoping to avoid, began.

As the woman behind the bar serving the drinks was cute, Travis was the first to speak up as he said, "Hello, Beautiful. How are things going here tonight?"

"It's booming," she replied as she turned to focus her attention on him. "My name is Renee. What can I get for you, Honey?"

"I'm afraid that I'm not here for a social visit, Renee, as much as I would like to be," Travis answered as he and the other detectives showed her their badges and pulled out a couple of pictures from his jacket pocket. "I was hoping you could give us some information. I know that Jeff Scott works here as a bartender like you. I need to know if he was here two nights ago around ten- thirty?"

Renee leaned closer to him and remained sweet as she responded, "If you think he's responsible for something, Officer…?"

Travis replied, "Detective. Detective Marks, but you can call me Travis."

"Travis, that isn't a very common name, Detective, but it suits you," she said and then continued. "Jeff is a good man, a good friend, who wouldn't do anything that would require your attention."

"I find that hard to believe," Travis answered in frustration. "Was he here around ten- thirty, two nights ago?"

Renee responded, "Yes, he was here; all night. What exactly are you accusing him of?"

Travis responded angrily, "Murder and attempted murder. Someone nearly killed my partner and we have reason to believe that the man you say couldn't do anything that would come to our attention is involved."

"Just as Renee said, Jeff was here all night behind the bar," one of the patrons that sat next to the detectives quickly said.

"Which is why we'd like to take a look at your surveillance footage of that night, as well as the day before around four o'clock in the afternoon," Detective Laroche cut in. "We'd like to see for ourselves. You can call him if you'd like; to verify that we have his permission."

Renee nodded and then directed the detectives toward the office, but as they made their way over, Travis stopped as he suddenly recognized one of the patrons as the second man, who had been one of Wes' attackers at his house. However, as soon as he slowly began to walk toward him, the man saw him too and suddenly took off running toward the back exit as he shouted out the word, 'cop,' in order to start a fight between the detectives and a group of drunken patrons, as he hoped that he would be able to get away.


	10. Chapter 10

Breaking Point

Chapter Ten

Travis fought his way through the drunken crowd to chase after the man, while Detectives Cafferty and Laroche worked on taking them down so that he could. Once the suspect had cleared the bar and ran down the street just over two blocks, as he reached an alleyway, he believed that he had lost the detective chasing after him, when suddenly he was knocked down to the ground hard as Travis came through the exit of one of the shops in front of him.

"Tommy, from your fast exit and attempt to run from me, I take it that you know who I am," Travis said gruffly as he pinned the man to the ground in order to cuff his hands behind him. "This certainly makes my job a lot easier."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the man cried. "I didn't do anything!"

Travis roughly pulled him up as he grabbed a hold of him by his jacket collar, shoved him hard against the wall of the building in front of them, and angrily responded, "I have evidence that proves otherwise. You were one of the men that attacked and nearly killed my partner in his home two nights ago and then tried to kill him and me earlier this morning as you and your buddies shot up and crashed our car into a restaurant; weren't you?"

Cruise objected as he answered, "I don't know…"

"We found the mask you wore at my partner's house!" Travis continued angrily. "He ripped it off your head before your friend shot him twice in the back! Now, tell me who hired you to kill him and I might recommend a deal."

"All right, I was there, but I swear to you, I don't know the guy, who hired the two of us," Tom replied. "My friend, Rick, hired me to help him break into the detective's house and wait for him to come home, but he told me that we were only hired to ruff him up a little. The bastard lied to me. As soon as the guy got home, Rick pulled out a gun and tried to kill him. If I had known, I wouldn't have accepted, but it was too late. As he fought us, I only fought back in order to keep him from finding out, who I was. The guy who shot your partner must have been the guy that hired Rick. I didn't know him."

Travis pulled him away from the wall and walked him over to the patrol car he and the other detectives came in as he said, "All right, if you're telling the truth, you won't have as much to worry about as your buddy and the other guy. What's the rest of your pal's name and where does he live?"

Tom answered, "His name is Rick Jackson. He lives just down the street. That's where I was heading just now, but he won't be home. He left town for a few days to visit someone. I don't know who."

"That's your theme song tonight, you know that?" Travis responded sarcastically as he shoved him into the back of the car, just as Cafferty and Laroche finally started walking toward them. "And I doubt your pal left town. If I were to show you a picture of his shooter, could you identify him?"

"No, I didn't ever see his face," Tom replied. "And he didn't stick around as the cops showed up as soon as he shot the cop."

Travis pulled out Jeff Scott's picture and said firmly, "Try."

Cruise shook his head angrily and shouted, "I told you, I don't know!"

"Good work, Travis," Kate called out as Travis stood up after finishing up with the criminal. "You caught your man."

"Did you doubt that I would?" Travis turned to her and asked.

Both Kate and her own partner could see the anger in his face as Amy solemnly replied, "No, we knew you'd catch him. Did he tell you anything?"

Travis answered, "Not a whole lot, but I've got the name of one of Wes' other attackers. Unfortunately, he's not Scott. Mr. Movie Star here doesn't know who hired him and his scumbag of a partner."

"You'll catch him, Travis," Kate responded comfortingly. "You and Wes always catch your man, especially when it's personal."

"We do, don't we?" he asked smugly.

As they arrived back at the precinct and both Cafferty and Laroche escorted Cruise to the holding cell, Wes came storming out of Captain Sutton's office toward the prisoner, until Travis quickly intercepted him and gently pulled him back as he said, "Take it easy, Buddy. You know that I wouldn't have gone to pick him up without you, unless I was given a direct order to do so, which I was. Believe me, I tried to tell the captain it was a mistake."

Wes ignored him as he continued to stare at the prisoner and asked angrily, "Is that one of the guys in my house? Did he tell you who shot me?"

"Yes and no, he doesn't know who shot you," Travis replied as he pushed Wes down into one of the chairs in Sutton's office. "And no, he doesn't know if Jeff Scott is involved. Just relax."

"You expect me to relax?" Wes asked again just as angrily. "You should never have gone without me!"

Travis answered, "I didn't want to, but you needed to rest. You look like hell, Man. You're going to make yourself sick if you don't give yourself the break that you need and let me do my job. We will get him and anyone else involved. We've got a lead, but I could use your help to find him, if you're up to it."

Wes finally calmed down and nodded as he rubbed his hand over his face, then softly responded, "Fine. Who is this guy and what's the lead?"

"This guy's name is Tom Cruise," Travis replied. "I know, ridiculous. He was only at your house though and not one of the men, who shot at us earlier this morning. Cruise was hired by his friend, a guy by the name of Rick Jackson, who lied to him about the job he'd be doing. Cruise only expected to break into your house and beat you badly. Jackson was hired to kill you, but when he failed, someone else broke in and shot you from behind. We still don't have proof that Jeff Scott is behind all this."

"We need to find Rick Jackson then," Wes said somberly. "Hopefully, he'll know who hired him."

Travis nodded and then responded, "Agreed. We have an address, but I don't think he'll be there. Cruise said he was out of town for a few days. Chances are, he's gone into hiding."

Sutton spoke up finally saying, "Well, maybe you'll get lucky by starting there. Get going and bring that son of a bitch in."


	11. Chapter 11

Breaking Point

Chapter Eleven

As Wes and Travis walked out of the precinct, Wes was the first to speak up as he asked skeptically, "Sutton didn't actually order you to go to the bar without me, did he?"

Travis thought about lying, but realized that Wes would see through it as he answered, "No, he didn't, but I only lied in order to try to get you to relax."

"We're partners, Travis," Wes replied in frustration. "We're supposed to work together. If I was there, I could have seen or learned something that you missed."

"I didn't want to go without you, but if a fight broke out, just as it did, then you would have gotten hurt even worse than you already are and I wouldn't have been able to help you," Travis responded. "I did it for your own good."

Wes shook his head and said, "I think I know what's best for me, but in order to stop this ridiculous argument, thank you."

Travis looked over at his partner in surprise and spoke up saying, "Wow! Nearly getting killed has made you soft. I never thought I'd hear the words, 'thank you,' come out of your mouth, at least not to me."

"I doubt it will happen again," Wes answered as they both got into the car, just as Cafferty and Laroche rode up beside them in their own car.

"We take it you guys are heading out to find your second suspect?" Laroche asked as she placed their car in park. "Would you like some more help?"

Travis looked over at Wes and said, "Ah, they came with me and fought off the scum in the bar so that I could go after Cruise. The captain actually did order me to take them along with me; I swear."

Wes glared between the women and then back at his partner and replied, "Perhaps you'd like one of them to be your partner instead?"

"Yes, both of them actually, but I'm stuck with you," Travis responded. "Come on, I thought we were done arguing?"

"We are," Wes answered as he looked over at the other detectives. "We'll let you know if we need your help. Thanks."

Cafferty replied, "No problem. Play nice, boys."

As soon as they drove away, Travis and Wes drove off themselves, as they headed to the address that their first arrestee had given them. As they expected, the man wasn't inside the worn down apartment when they arrived, but after looking around for about ten minutes, Jackson suddenly walked in. As soon as he saw the detectives, he took off running. Travis chased after him for a few blocks down the street, until Wes was finally able to catch him by ramming into him with their car as he opened its driver's side door and knocked him to the ground.

Both detectives looked down at their suspect, who was groaning in pain as he remained on the ground, as Travis said snidely, "Ow that had to hurt. Nice take down, partner!"

"It serves him right," Wes responded angrily as he grabbed Jackson by the back of his shirt and shoved him hard up against the car. "I want to know who hired you to try to kill me. You're in no position to negotiate for a deal. We already know you were inside my house thanks to your pal and I'm assuming you were one of the guys, who attacked me and my partner earlier today as well. Tell me what I want I want to know!"

"You can't make me tell you anything," Jackson snarled. "I want a lawyer."

Wes shoved him harder into the car until Travis finally intervened by gently pulling Wes back and then worked to cuff the guy's hands behind him as he spoke up saying, "Listen to me, Rick is it? My partner here has had a really rough few days thanks to you and your pals, so I really think it would be wise if you told us what we want to know because if you don't, you'll end up facing life in prison. A lawyer won't be able to help you out at all without some kind of promise of a deal from us in exchange for your cooperation."

Jackson only stared at Wes angrily as he firmly answered, "Lawyer."

Back at the station…

"I don't get it," Travis said as he and Wes were sitting once again in their captain's office after they explained to him what happened earlier when they arrested Rick Jackson. "Unless the guy is just refusing to tell us anything out of spite and hate for law enforcement, there's no good reason why he would protect the dirtbag that hired him. Jeff Scott is just a regular Joe, who's a bartender in some crappy bar in Hollywood. He's got hardly any money, no power, and no influence, so Jackson can't be afraid of him."

"How do you know that this kid has no influence over the guy?" Sutton asked. "Money isn't the only kind of motivator, you know. For all we know, Scott threatened Jackson's family, if he has one, or maybe there's a different kind of favor being traded. Maybe they're friends."

Travis rubbed his hands over his face as his own lack of sleep was beginning to wear on him. He could only imagine how Wes must be feeling by now, especially as he was still in pain on top of having even less sleep than him, but as Travis looked over at his partner, who was just staring ahead as he was deep in thought, he could see that Wes was struggling to put everything they had learned so far together. Even though it had a tendency to put a strain on their partnership, Travis couldn't help but admire how Wes' mind worked when it came to solving a case. If anyone could figure it out, it would be him.

Travis suddenly waved his hand in front of his partner's eyes to get his attention once again as he said, "Yo, earth to Wes. Hey, what could you possibly be thinking that requires you to totally blank out like that?"

Wes looked between him and their captain as he replied, "Sorry. I was just thinking that there's something I'm overlooking. There has to be something that connects Jeff to Jackson; some kind of association. Maybe Jackson's just a regular at the bar, but if that were true, then why would he hire him? It has to be deeper than that. The answer has got to be in Jeff's apartment."

"Yeah, but unfortunately, we can't get a warrant because we still have absolutely no proof that he's even involved; only a motive," Travis responded. "Damn it! Your influence is finally beginning to rub off on me. When this case is over, we need some time away from each other."

"Then, we'll have to make him slip up," Wes answered as he ignored Travis' sarcasm about their partnership.

Captain Sutton asked, "What do you mean, make him slip up? Do you mean that you want to make him give himself away?"

Travis looked at his partner in confusion as he asked, "And how do you expect us to be able to do that?"

"We dangle the worm in front of him," Wes replied.

"Come again?" Travis asked as he was even more confused than before.

Wes looked at his partner and then at their boss as he grimly responded, "Jeff wants me dead and he's already tried twice, but now, we've got both of his thugs in custody. He's desperate and out of help. We can catch him by using me as bate."

Travis shook his head and then answered, "This is crazy. Even if this could work, you're in no condition to get into a fight should something go wrong. Your drugs you finally agreed to take may be helping you for now, but he'll use your weaknesses against you in a fight."

"We don't have a choice," Wes said. "We need to stop him before he hurts anyone else trying to get to me. That crash this morning injured about a dozen people, some critically. Besides, there are also a few other people that he holds responsible for his brother's death. What if he goes after them? We need to end this, now!"

"All right, what's your plan?" Travis asked confidently, although inside felt very unsure about his partner's suggestion.


	12. Chapter 12

Breaking Point

Chapter Twelve

Inside Jeff Scott's bar…

Around seven-thirty that same night, Jeff was behind the bar serving drinks to three different patrons sitting down in front of him, while the three waitresses that the owner of the place had hired, waited on the numerous patrons that filled practically every seat. It was Saturday night and the busiest night in downtown Hollywood. Thankfully, Jeff wasn't the only bartender that night, as a man suddenly walked up to the bar and asked to speak with him in private. Jeff nodded at him, then turned to the woman serving beside him and asked her to cover for him for a few minutes.

Once the two men walked out the back door and into the alley, Jeff turned to the stranger and asked, "I take it, that you're Bashful?"

Bashful nodded and then responded, "I understand you have a job for me. I don't care who it is, but I do care that I'm paid the full amount you promised me; half up front and then the rest once the job is done."

"You're straight to the point," Jeff replied as he handed a picture of Wes to the man in front of him. "A deal is a deal. I like the name by the way. It doesn't really suit you, but then it adds to your mysterious demeanor. An old friend of mine recommended you highly. If I tell you your mark is a detective with the LAPD, that doesn't persuade you to change your mind, does it?"

"I told you I don't care who it is, just as long as I get my money," Bashful answered coldly. "Where is it?"

Bashful followed Jeff as he led him to the back parking lot to his car. As soon as they reached it, Jeff walked around to the back and opened the trunk, then motioned for the stranger to look inside as he opened a duffel bag that Bashful could now see was filled with cash. Bashful stepped back a few steps as he just glared at the man claiming to hire him to kill a cop.

Jeff noticed his hesitance and quickly asked, "What? Is my money not good enough for you?"

The man who named himself after a dwarf responded angrily, "How do I know that you're not a cop yourself, trying to set me up? There aren't many people that are brave enough to put a hit out on a cop."

"This cop murdered my brother years ago," Jeff replied angrily. "I already hired two others to try to kill him, but they both failed and I had to step in to try to finish him off myself. So I shot him; twice in the back. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to make sure that he was dead, as the cops showed up because the idiots made too much noise as they fought him. My guys tried again a few days later, but again, they failed and now they're both in prison. I should have hired you to begin with."

"Where did this money come from?" Bashful asked skeptically. "You don't look like the kind of man that has this kind of money lying around."

Jeff looked up at him with anger in his eyes as he answered, "Our grandmother was rich and when she died, she left my brother and me a large sum of money. Unfortunately, my brother was a bit of a gambler and not a very good one, but I am. After my brother died, I took what was left and I earned quite a bit of it back, just so that I could use it to make the man that stole my brother's life from him pay. I never spent a dime of it on myself. I am done trying to explain myself to you. Are you in, or do I have to find someone else?"

Bashful nodded as he picked up the bag and walked away, leaving Jeff alone in the parking lot. When he walked back inside, the woman he had asked to cover for him suddenly shouted out that there was someone on the phone for him, claiming that the call was urgent. As he headed to the office to answer it, she shouted at him once again, telling him to hurry up and get back to work.

When Jeff finally held the phone up to his ear, he responded, "Hello?"

"_I need you to listen to me very carefully and do what I say, Jeff, otherwise, you're going to end up either in prison or most likely, a body bag in just a few minutes,_" Wes replied with panic in his voice. "_I know that I am the last person you want to hear from right now, let alone listen to anything that I say, but I promise you, I am only trying to protect you._"

"What exactly do you think that I need protection from?" Jeff asked angrily as he listened to the man that he has hated for years now. "What's going on?"

Wes answered back, "_Listen, Jeff. The police are on their way to arrest you right now. We arrested two of the men that tried to kill me two nights ago and then again me and my partner earlier this morning. One of them claims that you hired him, not only to kill me, but that you also hired him and his pal to kill the real man that killed your sister in law. All of the officers that work here want your head for everything that you're responsible for, including my partner, and they're hoping that you'll put up a fight that will end up with you getting yourself killed, but I don't. I want to help you. I need to help you; for your brother. I failed him and if you die, then I will have failed you too. I'm no longer a cop because I couldn't be a part of the mob that are on their way. Leave work right now and meet me at the old, broken down jazz club on Fifth and Madison Street. It's where you and your brother used to sneak off to so that you and a group of friends could play poker. As I recall, it was your favorite…_"

Jeff interrupted, "I know darn well that it was my favorite place to hide from the hell that we lived in before he got married. You're lying."

"_If you don't want to believe me, then stick around for the cops to arrive,_" Wes responded in frustration. "_I suggest you sneak out of there fast once they get there if you don't want a couple of bullets in your chest. Please don't be stupid by going against them. I'll be waiting._"

As soon as Wes hung up, there was suddenly an uproar coming from out in the main room. People were screaming and shouting as the police barged their way in and began to force everyone down to the ground. From the office that was up above the main room of the bar, Jeff watched the scene as it unfolded and saw that the officers were fighting several of the drunken patrons as they began to attack them. Just as he was about to run out the back, Jeff suddenly saw the detective that had come with Wes to his apartment to question him, leading the group as they charged in; Wes' partner. What he didn't know, was that Travis had seen him too, but had ordered the men to let him be as he snuck out the back.

About ten minutes later, Jeff Scott arrived at the boarded up jazz club, as it wasn't too far away from the bar where he worked. When he slowly walked inside, he could hardly see anything at all as there was no electricity throughout the entire place since it had closed down back in the late sixties. However, as he walked toward the center of the main room, a flash light suddenly flickered on as Jeff finally found Wes sitting down at one of the filthy, dust covered tables.

"I didn't think you'd come," Wes said softly. "I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't."

Jeff was still skeptic of Wes' motives as he slowly walked up to him and asked, "Why did you warn me about your partner leading the LAPD into the bar looking for me?"

Wes stood as he replied, "I already told you why. I didn't want to see you get yourself killed. You don't deserve that."

"Even though you believe that I tried to kill you?" Jeff asked again.

"Your brother's death changed who I was back then," Wes answered somberly. "He died because of me and if you are responsible for the hits put out on me, then it's my fault for turning you into this man. If I can help you get out of town right now, then no one else has to be hurt and you can finally live the life you deserve to live. Maybe then, I can finally forgive myself for getting your brother killed."

Anger was boiling inside of him as Jeff listened to Wes talk, but he remained calm until he was finished and when he was finished Jeff asked, "Where is your gun?"

Wes responded, "I don't have one. I told you I quit this afternoon and I had to hand in my gun and my badge. I couldn't go home to get my spare because there wasn't enough time."

"Good," Jeff replied as he suddenly grabbed Wes by his jacket collar and shoved him down hard against the floor, causing a painful intake of breath come from Wes. "Then, you won't be able to defend yourself when I kill you for killing my brother. How's the pain in your back now?"

"You don't want to do this," Wes struggled to say as the pain in his shoulders began throb because of the attack. "I just want… I want to help you."

Jeff pulled out his own gun from the back of his pants and smacked it hard across the side of his head, causing the area to split open and bleed, then roughly thrust it back up against Wes' temple as he answered angrily, "So that you can ease your conscience? I don't think so. I should have just killed you back then and it would have saved me all this trouble."

Wes looked up at Jeff through blurry eyes, as he the pressure against the wounds in the back of his shoulders was beginning to cause him to lose consciousness, and he said, "Back then, you weren't a killer. Do you really think you can kill me… on your own?"

"I was the one who put the bullets in your back, wasn't I?" Jeff asked while he used his free hand to hold Wes down tightly by his throat, successfully cutting off his airway, and moved his hand that he held the gun with to point it down between Wes' eyes. "This is for my brother."

Wes closed his eyes as Jeff clicked back the glock on his gun, but just as he was about to fire, another shot sounded and Jeff suddenly began to scream as the bullet struck him in the back of his right shoulder, ironically where he had first shot Wes. As Wes fought to catch his breath, Travis quickly ran over to him and gently helped him to sit up as both Cafferty and Laroche fought to cuff Scott's hands behind his back while he screamed and struggled beneath them.

"Are you all right?" Travis asked his partner in concern as he could tell he was in a lot of pain.

Wes looked up at him as he responded, "Do I look all right… to you? What took you so long?"

Travis placed his hand on the area of his partner's head where he had been struck with the gun in order to get a better look at the wound and then replied, "I ran into traffic trying to get here. The wound doesn't look too bad."

"Yeah, well it hurts like hell," Wes answered as he reached up to push Travis' hand away. "Thank you, you know, for saving my life."

"You can thank me by letting me come up with the next plan," Travis said as he helped his partner to stand and walk out of the building. "This was the stupidest idea you've ever come up with; tick him off until he threatens to kill you himself. That's just great."

As they talked amongst themselves while they walked, Wes kept his eyes trained on Jeff, who was being escorted to the women's patrol car just in front of them, and as he they were about to open the car's door to put him inside, the younger man looked up to his right and nodded. Wes suspiciously looked up in the same direction and then shouted out for everyone to get down as he suddenly shoved Travis down to the ground behind the car for cover, just as another shot rang out.


	13. Chapter 13

Breaking Point

Chapter Thirteen

As soon as they all took cover behind the patrol car and lowered themselves to the ground, several more shots were fired above them by a sniper, who had strategically set himself up on a rooftop across from them to their right. However, the shots suddenly stopped, almost as quickly as the firing had begun.

Travis carefully moved out from under his partner, as Wes had dove over him when he shoved him down to the ground just as the first shot had been fired, but as soon as he had, Travis found that Wes was unconscious and bleeding out from a new wound in his lower left side. The first shot had found its mark, which could have very easily hit Travis instead if it wasn't for Wes' quick instinct, and the rest were just cover fire to distract the rest of them long enough so that their shooter could try to get away.

Travis quickly pushed his hands down over the wound as he shouted out, "Somebody, call for an ambulance, now! Damn it, Wes!"

Cafferty moved over to the guys as she forced Travis' hands off of the bullet wound and took over for him as she replied, "Amy's making the call. I've got your partner. You go after that son of a bitch that did this."

"I can… can't!" Travis tried to say. "What about…?"

"You have to," Amy said as she took her place beside her own partner, then gently placed Wes' head in her lap and helped Kate take care of him. "There's only one exit out of that building. If you go after him now, there's still a chance you can catch him. If not, then he'll keep coming after Wes until he succeeds. You know this!"

Travis looked down at his partner after he stood and then nodded as he answered, "Tell him he better not die."

Kate smiled sadly as she and Amy watched as Travis took off across the street hoping to catch the scumbag, then she looked over to where she had quickly cuffed Scott to the patrol car just before she rushed over to help Wes and glared at him angrily as she asked, "Who the hell was he; a friend of yours?"

"I don't know the guy," Jeff responded. "He was just an insurance plan in case I couldn't kill Mitchell myself."

"Wes is much too stubborn to die because of a dirtbag like you." Kate said bitterly as the ambulance sirens finally began to sound in the distance. "You should know, you've already tried to kill him three other times and you've failed. You'll fail this time too."

Jeff grinned and then asked, "How many lives do you think he has?"

Meanwhile…

As soon as Travis ran into the building where the shooter had shot his partner from, he quickly ran into the stairway that led up to the roof. However, several more shots were fired down at him as the guy had descended half way down in order to exit the building. Luckily, Travis managed to dodge out of the way as he saw the shooter just before he could get the shots off, then began to take a couple of shots of his own.

Bashful began to run back up, but exited on one of the top floors when he saw that there was no way for him to get out from the main lobby of the building, unless he could find a way to take the detective chasing after him as well. Otherwise, he was going to have to find another way out.

As Travis continued to ascend up the stairwell, he pulled out his radio and quickly called for backup to surround the building in order to make sure the shooter couldn't get away. Travis finally made it to the floor where he had seen their shooter exit on and cautiously walked into the hallway, as he waited for the officers' answer. Once the men that he had gotten the help from in the raid at the bar had replied to his call, he put the radio back in his pocket and continued to slowly walk through the hallways with his gun out in front of him.

The building was filled with offices for three or four different law firms and Travis knew that the criminal could be hiding in any one of them. He also knew that the guy was very much aware that Travis was not going to let him get away without a fight, which would no doubt end with one of them getting killed.

So, as he continued walking slowly through the halls in search for the man, Travis angrily shouted out, "You can try to hide, but I will find you! It's only a matter of time! There's no way to escape and believe me, I won't have any trouble pulling the trigger on you if you continue to resist arrest. In fact, I'll sleep better if I do. See, my partner and I don't usually get along, but neither of us really have any friends, so shooting him was a big mistake!"

As soon as Travis said this, the shooter suddenly fired several more rounds at him from inside one of the offices to his right, causing Travis to quickly take cover behind a desk in the office across the hall. This time, the detective wasn't as lucky, as he had taken a bullet in his arm. It was a through and through, but it hurt like hell.

"I'm not as easy to kill as you might think, Detective," Bashful replied.

"Are you trying to say that you're a professional killer?" Travis asked sarcastically and then fired off several more shots until his gun clicked as the chamber was now empty. "Cause as far as I know, most professionals aren't stupid enough to get themselves cornered inside a building with only one exit. You're surrounded. Unless you want a bullet in between your eyes, I suggest you throw out your gun, or guns, and come out with your hands raised."

Bashful called out from where he stood behind the wall as he answered, "It sounds like you're out of rounds. I'm not finished yet. How is your partner by the way? I was hired to kill him, but at that moment, I was aiming for you, as I didn't have a clear shot. I didn't expect him to push you out of the way; lucky shot."

Travis seethed in anger as he looked down at Wes' blood covering both of his hands and then responded, "You're only making things worse for yourself, you son of a bitch. By all means, keep talking."

The shooter stepped out from his cover and began firing several rounds at the desk where Travis was hidden behind and as he believed he had the detective pinned down, Bashful moved out into the hallway and began to ascend upon him as he said, "Too bad you won't be around to avenge your partner. Good bye, Detective."

"I don't think so, Bastard!" Kate suddenly shouted as she came from around the corner, followed by Amy, both pointing their guns straight at the criminal, who slowly raised his gun up toward the light above him. "Put your guns down now, or we will open fire!"

"Not if you can't see," Bashful replied as he suddenly shot out the light directly above him, followed by the rest of the lights as he took off running down the hallway, using the darkness for cover.

Travis stepped out from behind his cover and then together he, Cafferty, and Laroche took off after him. They paused in the stairwell, as they had lost track of him, until they suddenly heard more shots being fired from the lobby; two floors below them. Their shooter had apparently run into the other cops that had been left behind to block the exit, while the others roamed through the rest of the building, and began to fire upon them in order to escape.

The woman began to run faster down the stairs, as Travis exited the stairwell on the floor just above the lobby. They tried to call out to him, but he disappeared before they could and they continued down and exited into the lobby. As they did, they saw their shooter firing at several of the officers from behind the security desk. As soon as he saw Cafferty and Laroche come out from the stairwell, he opened fire on them as well as they took their own cover.

Amy turned to her partner and cried out, "This guy's like a one man army. We need to take him out now, before he can take out any more of us!"

Before her partner could reply, everyone turned just as Travis cried out as he suddenly jumped from a balcony that overlooked the lobby from the second floor, grabbed a hold of a large banner that hung just above the security desk, and swung down and into the criminal before he could get a shot off. As he landed on top of the guy, Travis punched him several times in the face and stomach, then thrust his knee roughly against his back after pushing him over onto his stomach, firmly holding it there while he fought to cuff him. After he was finally subdued, Travis suddenly punched him hard against the right side of his head in anger, successfully knocking him unconscious.

Both Amy and Kate looked down at Travis in surprise as he continued sitting on top of their shooter while he fought to catch his breath, then Kate said, "That was one of the craziest things I've ever seen you do. How exactly did you know you'd be able to fly down here like that and take him down before he shot you?"

Travis looked up at her as he stood, allowing two of the other cops take the criminal away, and then answered, "I wasn't planning on doing that. I knew the dirtbag would be too distracted trying to take you and the rest of the guys out, so all I was going to do was shoot him from that balcony, but when I saw where he was, I didn't think, I just jumped. What about Wes?"

"We stayed with him until the paramedics arrived and took over," Amy responded grimly. "He's in bad shape, but he's tough. He'll be all right."

"Thanks for getting here when you two did," Travis said softly as he walked out of the building and headed to the women's patrol car, where two more cops were watching over the man responsible for this entire mess.

Amy nodded and then quickly replied, "You can pay us back by writing up our reports, while you take a little time off."

Travis ignored them as he opened one of the car's back doors and roughly pulled Scott out, shoved him hard up against the car, and spoke up angrily saying, "Right now, I would love nothing more than to put another bullet in your skull, but my partner begged me to do whatever it took to make it so that you lived to see the inside of a prison cell. He fought to protect you, even after you tried to kill him for the second time. Who the hell was your accomplice that just tried to take out half of the LAPD?"

Jeff answered angrily, "As I told the ladies here, I didn't know him. I only hired him to take Mitchell out in case I couldn't. It looks like he succeeded."

Travis shoved him harder against the car once again and responded, "You will be lucky if you end up with life in prison. If Wes dies, I'll fight to make sure you do get the needle just as your friend will get."

"Come on, Travis," Kate said softly. "You need to get yourself to the hospital to get that arm of yours looked at. Besides, it will be a long night waiting up for news about your partner. We'll take care of everything else."

"Thank you," Travis replied as he let go of Scott and walked away toward his own patrol car.

As he drove, Travis made a call to Captain Sutton, briefly explaining that he was on his way to the hospital, and then made a second call to Doctor Ryan. If he was going to talk to anyone, he knew she was the one that would be able to help him the most with the anger he was feeling right then.


	14. Chapter 14

Breaking Point

Chapter Fourteen

About an hour and a half later, Doctor Ryan arrived at the hospital to find Travis sitting down in one of the chairs inside the waiting room, leaning forward with his head down in between his hands. She slowly and quietly took a seat beside him, causing him to jump slightly as he was startled by her approach.

"I'm sorry," she spoke up gently. "I didn't mean to scare you. You look exhausted and like you're in pain."

"It's nothing compared to what happened to Wes," Travis responded grimly. "A bullet went right through my arm. It's happened before. It's nothing I can't handle."

Elise continued to look at him as she replied, "You're worried about Wes. I mean, this time you're worried that your partner isn't going to make it. He's taken what… three bullets now in just the last few days?"

Travis looked at her as he answered, "That's right, three bullets; the last of which should have hit me. The bastard hired a professional shooter to finish Wes off for good, but he didn't have a clear shot. So, he shot at me. Only somehow, Wes saw the shooter first and pushed me out of the way."

"I see," the doctor responded as she looked away for moment and then turned back. "You blame yourself for your partner being here in the hospital again."

"Of course I do," Travis said angrily as he stood and began to pace as his anger made him no longer able to sit still. "He's my partner and I told him that I would have his back when he decided to confront the guy that wanted him dead tonight, but instead he had mine. I should have been paying closer attention and not acted like this was just any other take down."

Doctor Ryan replied, "I think you're being too hard on yourself, Travis. As I'm sure Wes would agree, even if he was himself right now. If the roles were reversed, I am sure you would have done the same for him too. There's more to why you're upset right now, isn't there? Is it because you realize what I've been trying to get the two of you to realize for months now? That the two of you are brothers and much more alike than you want to believe?"

Travis shook his head as he scoffed, "I don't…"

"Whether he realizes it enough to admit it out loud in a therapy session, I believe Wes knows this, which is why he did tonight, what he did," Elise continued. "You know why he did everything he did in the last few days, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Travis answered angrily. "He fought to try to save a kid from ruining his life because he blamed himself for his brother's death. This kid wasn't worth saving, but Wes didn't care. He always wants to make sure to do what's right for not only the victims, but also for those that have been accused and convicted. If there's the slightest doubt that a suspect is guilty, then Wes will do whatever it takes to find out the truth so that we can get the right guy, no matter what anyone else believes. I've never told him this, but I've always admired him for that. No matter how much I've teased him or gone against him, I admire his will to get the right guy. I think I've even become a better cop because of it."

Doctor Ryan smiled as she responded, "I believe Wes would say the similar things about you as well if the roles were reversed."

Travis finally took a seat in the chair beside her once again as he asked fearfully, "What if he doesn't make it this time, Doc? I mean, I may have a number of foster siblings and parents, but I don't have any friends; certainly none that understand me as well as Wes. I don't want another partner. I suppose that's why I was more open to coming to therapy. Something happened to us that's changed how we act toward each other, but I want the chance to get through it. I know he wants the same thing, but he's just more afraid to show his vulnerable side. If he dies…"

"I'm pretty confident that that's not going to happen; at least not tonight," one of the doctors from the emergency room where Wes had been wheeled into said as he walked over to them. "Forgive the interruption, Detective, but I thought you'd like to know right away."

"Are you saying that my partner's going to be all right?" Travis asked eagerly. "I mean, really all right?"

The man nodded as he replied, "The wound is severe, as the bullet nicked one of his vital organs and caused him to lose a lot of blood, but we were able to remove the projectile and repair most of the damage. The rest should heal in time as long as he allows himself to take it easy and stay here in the hospital this time. We've also given him one blood transfusion and will give him another one shortly."

Travis rubbed his hand through his hair and sighed in relief, then asked, "And what about the drugs? Will he be awake soon so that I can see him?"

"I'm afraid he'll be unconscious for a while," the doctor answered. "He had a hell of an infection from his previous wounds and was beginning to develop a fever. We had to inject him with a few IVs; some to keep him stabilized, as well as some to help make him comfortable. When he does finally wake up, he's going to want the drugs."

"Thank you, Doctor," Travis responded as he shook the man's hand before he turned and walked away.

Doctor Ryan smiled as she spoke up again saying, "It looks like you'll have plenty of time to patch things up between yourselves, or to keep arguing; whatever works for the two of you. Believe me, arguing, as long as it's the playful kind, isn't always such a bad thing. It can be good at times too."

Five days later…

When Wes finally woke up, he looked around as he saw the numerous flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, and get well cards placed throughout the room. When he finally saw Travis lying down in the empty bed next to his own with a book in his hand, Wes smiled and cleared his throat in order to get his partner's attention.

Travis quickly tossed the book down at the end of the bed as he said, "Hey, you're awake. It's about time."

"I don't think I've ever seen you with anything more than a comic book in your hand," Wes replied softly. "What were you reading?"

"It's nothing," Travis answered sheepishly as he seemed ashamed of being caught with the book at all. "It is a comic that… it doesn't really matter."

Wes looked at him as he responded, "I know about your high IQ, Travis. It's okay to read an actual book in front of me for a change. What happened? You know, after we arrested Jeff; what happened after I was shot by the sniper?"

Travis put his head down and quietly replied, "Kate and Amy stayed with you until the ambulance arrived, while I went after the shooter and I eventually managed to take him down. He and Scott are both still alive and awaiting trial in prison where they belong. There were a lot of other cops that were wounded in the fight, but none of them were killed. You don't have to worry about any of that. It's all being dealt with."

"You were hit too," Wes said as he noticed the bandage over his arm. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Travis answered quickly. "It was nothing; just a through and through. You were the one that got the worst of it. How did you see the guy before he took that shot by the way?"

Wes laid his head back on the pillows as he looked up at the ceiling and responded, "I was watching Jeff. When I saw him look up toward the roof, I saw the sniper and when he nodded, I quickly realized he had hired someone to finish the job for him. I did what I did because I wasn't about to let you or the others get hurt because of my mistake."

Travis nodded as he said, "I know. Doctor Ryan helped me to see that. She was here the night all this happened. You really need to stop blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault. It was all Jeff's. You were only trying to do your job and unfortunately, you were given false information. You couldn't help what happened to his brother. If anyone was to blame, it was the dirty cop. Jeff chose to blame you so much that it took control of him."

"You get all of this from Doctor Ryan?" Wes asked.

"Man, it is so good to have you back," Travis replied as he began to laugh, followed by Wes a moment later. "As you can see, you've got a lot of people encouraging you to get better. Most of this stuff is from the gang in our therapy group. Even Doctor Ryan gave you a card saying she's anxious for us to come back. I think she likes us, or at least she likes me. Kendall gave you the teddy bear with the heart, some flowers, and a get well card. For whatever reason, she really likes you. It's just weird. You got a card and some flowers from Amy and Kate, something from the captain, and some flowers and a card from Alex. She's been here a few times to sit with you. She was worried about you."

Wes smiled as he looked over at the gifts, then noticed a book entitled, How to Loosen Up if You're an Uptight Individual, and glared at Travis as he asked, "Let me guess, the self-help book is from you?"

Travis shrugged and smiled as he answered sarcastically, "I thought it suited you. Maybe it can teach you to become a happier man and to move on with your life. That way, I won't have to be stuck with such a moody partner all the time."

"Thank you, Travis; for everything," Wes said quietly as he lay his head back down on the pillows once again. "I really couldn't do this job without you."

"Really?" Travis asked in surprise. "I mean, of course I feel the same way, but I never thought I'd ever hear you admit that."

Wes closed his eyes and responded, "Just promise me something. Promise me that the next time we go to our therapy session, you won't tell anyone I ever said that. I can't go ruining my reputation now."

Both Wes and Travis laughed again and continued to talk well into the night until eventually Wes fell asleep. The next day, Alex came by to visit with him and Travis headed home to sleep. Just before Alex headed home herself, Wes finally told her that he was truly happy that she found someone she could be happy with once again. She knelt down and kissed him on his forehead, then left.

Wes meant what he had said. He was happy for her because he finally understood why she left him. Being a cop meant sacrifice, including for some of them, giving up having a loved one and a family. It wasn't easy, but Wes knew that it was worth it. It was his job to fight for the lives of the people he was in charge of protecting from the ground level because there weren't many people who did. Despite their rough patches, Travis helped him a lot, as did the therapy sessions, though Wes and Travis would never admit it out loud. Things were slowly getting back to normal and the ghosts that once haunted the ex-lawyer, turned detective, were finally beginning to fade.

The End


End file.
